VVC board fills vacated seat

Wednesday

Aug 14, 2013 at 6:01 PMAug 15, 2013 at 3:52 PM

Brooke Self, Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE• Local residents, community leaders and faculty members were stunned Wednesday night when the Victor Valley College Board of Trustees quickly voted to appoint attorney Brandon Wood to fill its vacant seat.

Trustee John Pinkerton suggested the appointment of Wood, president of the High Desert Bar Association Board, Trustee Joe Brady seconded the appointment and the vote was made 3-1 to approve him, a VVC spokesman said. Wood's appointment to the board negates the need for a special election to fill the spot left when Michael Krause resigned in June.

Trustee Dennis Henderson voted against the appointment, saying he opposed the way officials had moved forward without first having voted to approve the appointment process.

"We look forward to the board coming together and working together to give guidance to the leadership of the college," VVC spokesman Bill Greulich said.

The board has been split for several weeks, coming to no solution in at least two other special meetings to try to approve the direction they would take to fill the vacant seat.

At least nine public comments were made at the beginning of Wednesday's meeting, many from candidates and other community voices, either reiterating their interest in the position or encouraging the board to choose the appointment process.

"I was pleasantly surprised that I was so quickly named, voted on and elected," Wood said after the meeting.

Wood reminded the board of his qualifications Wednesday night prior to the vote, Greulich said, and he had applied with 12 other applicants for the position last week after VVC Board President Lorrie Denson issued a public notice seeking candidates.

"Brandon is well known in the legal field and to be president of the High Desert Bar Association I think speaks volumes," Trustee Joseph W. Brady said. "I've never seen so many capable people that were committed to attempting to better our college, and I would encourage everyone of them to think about running in 2014."

Wood is an attorney and owns a law firm in Victorville. He said he has been a board member of the High Desert Bar Association for the past five years.

Contact Brooke Self at BSelf@VVDailyPress.com or 760-951-6232.

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